Football players volunteer with Chiefs linebackers

BVNW senior football players spent Tuesday working with the Chiefs linebackers and Harvesters to fight hunger in the Kansas City area.

Photo+courtesy+of+the+Kansas+City+Chiefs%2C+provided+by+Hallinan

Photo courtesy of the Kansas City Chiefs, provided by Hallinan

Ayesha Vishnani, Opinion Editor

Seniors on the BVNW football team worked with the Kansas City Chiefs linebackers yesterday at Arrowhead Stadium on a service project transporting Tyson’s chicken from Harvesters trucks to trucks on their way to shelters.

The food – 30,000 pounds – was donated to over 60 agencies in the Kansas City area in an effort to fight hunger, according to information provided by the Harvester’s communication manager, Gene Hallinan.

For the service project, senior Ryan Kelly said the BVNW seniors and the Chief’s linebackers worked together to load the food onto the individual trucks for the sponsors to take to their shelters.

“It was kind of intimidating like when I would take a box from one of the players when they’re like double my size…it’s pretty crazy,” Kelly said. “I gave Justin Houston a high five and his hands were quite large, but it was a really cool experience, because they were definitely willing to work with us and help us and they showed a lot of respect toward us for doing it.”

Principal Amy Murphy said she was first contacted by Chief Operating Chair Steve Davis to see if the BVNW football team could take part in the service opportunity.

“Just our connection and Steve and I worked on several projects together…he thought, ‘let me just call Amy and see if Northwest would be a good group to have come,” Murphy said.

Football coach Mike Zegunis said the seniors were selected due to their positions on the team and an opportunity for them to learn.

“We just felt the fact that they’re seniors (they’re) probably our biggest leadership group,” Zegunis said. “It’s also a fitting way to end our season is to give our senior boys one last opportunity to work together.”

Photo courtesy of the Kansas City Chiefs
Photo courtesy of the Kansas City Chiefs, provided by Hallinan

Zegunis said this opportunity allows for the players to be able to uphold the meaning of leadership.

“I just always believe that leadership is about serving others,” Zegunis said. “I’m really glad that we get an opportunity to just do that and help out others.”

Kelly said Zegunis told the team about the opportunity last Thursday after practice.

“We didn’t have much (info) to go off of except the fact that we were helping Harvesters,” Kelly said. “I was kind of expecting just to be in the warehouse working with a few representatives from the Chiefs, but I wasn’t expecting to actually see the players there.”

Kelly said a memorable moment for him during the event was interacting with Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali.

Tamba Hali actually took an interest in our season and asked how we did and obviously we didn’t do very well this year like victories-wise,” Kelly said. “It was just kind of cool because he joked around with us and he said ‘Neither are we’ like talking about the Chiefs…It was just cool that he was relaxed with us and laidback; he talked with us like his equal, not as much like his fans.”

Photo courtesy of the Kansas City Chiefs, provided by Hallinan
Photo courtesy of the Kansas City Chiefs, provided by Hallinan

Kelly said the community service project with the Chiefs taught him an important lesson on selflessness, watching the Chiefs help the community on one of their only free days.

He said the experience also changed his perception of the players and who they are as individuals.

“We all watch [the Chiefs] on the field…and we just see them playing really well,” Kelly said. “You don’t really understand that there’s actual people in those jerseys, and it was just really surprising to me to see that they’re not just football players; they’re really active in helping the Kansas City community.”


 

**BVNWnews was not able to get interviews with Chief Operating Chair, Steve Davis or with Gene Hallinan, the Harvesters Communications Manager.